Michigan State football’s season presumably ended on Saturday after a frustrating, lackluster loss to Penn State on the road. The final score was 35-16 and should put the Spartans season to rest.
There isn’t much positive in this one to review. The Spartans, extremely short-handed from injuries and suspensions, allowed Sean Clifford to surgically pick them apart for an incredibly efficient 19-for-24, 202 yards and 4 touchdowns.
When the Spartans needed a big stop at the end of the game and Penn State went for it on fourth down to seal the win, the Spartans had a match-up issue with only three defensive backs lined up against four wide receivers. Many fans immediately took to social media wondering why they didn’t call timeout, as Penn State easily scored, and that play perfectly sums up a disappointing season for the Spartans.
Mel Tucker will likely blame ‘execution’ in the post game, but there were so many quality control issues this year and just sloppy coaching across the board. This game should be the last game for a lot of this staff as Tucker will need to install some more competent coaches on his staff. As Tucker notes often, this is a results business and Tucker will need to show a much different team next year or his seat may start to warm up.
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